Kryptonite
by LarkroseLukos
Summary: I keep you by my side, with my superhuman might... Kryptonite." First official BlackXTawny fanfic. Rated some minor references. Tawnypelt centered.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Warriors. I do own my OCs, like Sunpaw, and this particular plotline.**

"Littlecloud, I think I'm coming down with something."

The medicine cat was rather annoyed to hear his leader's words. "What's wrong?" he asked, turning to face the large tom.

"Nothing's _wrong_." Blackstar's voice was cross. "I'm not sick, but I think I might have an allergy."

"Too what?"

"Well, whenever I'm around this one she-cat, I feel weird." Blackstar flattened his ears and looked at his paws, appearing rather embarrassed. "I feel nervous and… happy. And warm."

"And the problem with that is…?"

"Well, I've diagnosed myself." Blackstar regained his haughty composure in a heartbeat.

"Then why did you come to me?" Littlecloud muttered.

Blackstar didn't seem to hear. "I think I have an allergy to she-cats."

Littlecloud's whiskers twitched, and he let out a purr of laughter. His leader shot him a scornful glare, and the medicine cat regained his composure, his body still shaking with amusement.

"An allergy to she-cats? That's mousebrained!"

"Well, it sounded rather plausible when I thought of it." Blackstar mumbled, his ears flat once again. Louder, he added, "So I'm not sick?"

"Well, some cats refer to love as a sickness." Littlecloud suggested. "Though I've never-"

"Wait, wait. You're talking about love, that fox dung those ThunderClanners are always talking about? _That love_?" Blackstar growled.

Littlecloud nodded, his smirk of amusement still not gone. "Yes, that 'fox dung'."

"Impossible." Blackstar looked away. "ShadowClan cats don't fall in love."

Littlecloud laughed again, and his leader held back a growl of annoyance. "Oh yes, they do, Blackstar. How do you expect our Clan gets kits every Greenleaf?"

Blackstar didn't answer, only narrowed his eyes.

"Look," Littlecloud nudged his leader's gaze to Smokefoot and Snowbird, who were sharing tongues and gently batting each other. "That's love."

"Disgusting," Blackstar twitched his whiskers in annoyance. "They're acting like kits."

"Yes, courtship is a tricky business. It certainly twists your mind around. That's why we medicine cats have a saying. Do you want to hear it?"

Blackstar sighed. "Fine."

"Well, Runningnose used to say, 'Who needs she-cats when you can have herbs?'" Littlecloud's mew was rich with pride. "Of course, then… that sounded rather wrong, and lonely, didn't it?"

Blackstar nodded.

"Well, then." Littlecloud changed the subject quickly. "Who's the lucky she-cat?"

"No one. I'm not in love." Blackstar hissed. Quieter, he added, "Like I'd tell you."

Littlecloud rolled his eyes. "Typical."

"Blackstar!" Toadfoot came running forward. He had a few scratches covering his back, and a large bitemark on his shoulder. "Tawnypelt attacked me."

"I did not!" Tawnypelt growled, strutting forward. "I was only…"  
"Protecting your precious ThunderClan, again. Of course-" Toadfoot snarled.

"No, what actually happened-"

"I'm telling him!"

"It's my story! I should get to-"

"I'm the victim here! She's not loyal-"

The two cats rambled on and on until they were out of breath.

"Okay, what happened?" Blackstar snapped. "Toadfoot, you may speak first."

"Well, I was just there minding my own business, on that border patrol, with _her_, when this ThunderClan apprentice crosses the border. I was scolding her-"  
"You were about to claw her to pieces." Tawnypelt hissed.

Toadfoot ignored her. "When this whole ThunderClan patrol comes out. Then the deputy, Brambleclaw, started going on about something about the code- I wasn't paying attention, really- and well, lets just say it turned into a little border skirmish."

"You had him pinned down-"

"Anyways, I could have chased off that deputy- for the record, he's Tawnypelt's brother- but then this _traitor _launches herself at me. She gave me this bite," Toadfoot motioned towards his shoulder.

"I'm sorry!" Tawnypelt exclaimed. "He was going to hurt Brambleclaw, and… I don't know… I'm loyal, I really am!"

"This… calls for a punishment." Blackstar hissed. Littlecloud saw fear flash in Tawnypelt's eyes, and he stepped forward to reason with his leader.

"Silence, Littlecloud." Blackstar snapped. He raised his head high. "Tawnypelt, your punishment is that for as long as I feel needed, you will not be allowed out of my sight."

Tawnypelt seemed shocked, then rather relieved.

"What kind of punishment is that?" Toadfoot screeched. "I demand exile!"

Blackstar didn't answer. "Your punishment starts tonight, Tawnypelt." He began to walk away, black paws kicking up pine needles.

"Oh, and I hope you don't see it as a _punishment,_" he added, turning around. "But as an opportunity."

Tawnypelt cocked her head but nodded slowly.

"Tawnypelt…" Littlecloud mumbled. "Who would've known…"

XXX

…No comment.

-Lukos


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Warriors. I do own my OCs, like Sunpaw, and this particular plotline.**

**A/N: Thank you for the kind comments, guys! (is glad someone likes my crappy story)**

Night soon fell, and Tawnypelt's pelt was prickling with uneasiness as she left to find Blackstar. Rowanclaw had brushed up against her pelt earlier, muttering "Good luck," into her ear, and Toadfoot had shot her a glare filled with poison. But despite Rowanclaw's cheery (if not protective) attitude towards the situation, she couldn't help but feel fear. She knew Blackstar wouldn't hurt her (well, she was pretty sure) but the oddness of his request rippled across her memory.

When she at last located her leader, she found him standing quietly in the center of camp, amber eyes sparking with moonlight. He greeted her nonchalantly with a dip of his head, and flicked his tail gently towards his den. He set off without a word, turning his head only one to see if his Clanmate was following him.

His quietness didn't help Tawnypelt feel any better, but she gradually accepted it. When they reached his den, Blackstar lowered his head and spoke at last.

"This," he nodded towards the den. "Is where you will be sleeping."

Tawnypelt peered into the den. She had visited a few times before, but had never grown accustomed to its dark atmosphere.

It was really a few bushes, clumped together so tightly that it shaded the entire floor beneath. Light and shadow danced a sad duet on the dusty moss nest, and a small crack of light shone through on one side of the den. Looking closely, Tawnypelt could see the HighBranch, which grew overhead, swaying gently in the breeze. It was sad and dark and mysterious. Rather fitting for a cat as secretive as Blackstar.

"Disappointed?" Blackstar's mew nearly scared Tawnypelt out of her fur. She had been so caught up in the details of the den that she hadn't noticed he'd moved. The leader was standing beside her, and his breath felt warm against her ear.

"Wha- oh, no. It's fine." Tawnypelt mewed quickly, feeling her ears turn hot with embarrassment.

"I'm glad you like it." Blackstar's voice betrayed no emotion, only the underlying tones of haughtiness, which was quite normal for a cat as proud as him. "This will, after all, be your den for the duration of your punishment."

"And that is how long…?"

Blackstar lowered his gaze so that his face was nearly hidden in shadow. "I haven't decided _that _yet."

Was he perhaps hinting that he was disappointed in her? Maybe he distrusted her. It was impossible to decode exactly what his meant in his icy meow.

"You know I didn't mean to attack Toadfoot." Tawnypelt reasoned, trying to capture the same nonchalant tone but failed. Her desperation for a cat to know she was loyal leaked through. Blackstar's gaze lit up, and Tawnypelt knew he'd realized this.

"As long as your only loyalty is to ShadowClan," the leader said slowly. "Then I have no reason to doubt you. You were protecting your kin, no?"

Tawnypelt nodded her head. "Yes."

"I could understand, that coming from a cat like you, with a rather large family, kin is important to you?"

Tawnypelt dipped her head, closing her eyes for a moment. "Yes."

She opened her eyes to find her leader was no longer facing her, put pawing gently at the moss nest, shaking it of dust.

"Luckily," he said. "I will never have to know that sort of loyalty, for I have no kin." He paused. "Or at least no _alive_." Was that regret in his voice? Or was the feeling in his words more complex then that, perhaps misguided joy?

Tawnypelt found herself once again analyzing the leader's every move, and shook her head. She shouldn't really care about what he felt. But yet she still yearned to know what his words meant, as if they held a double meaning that could relate to both his foggy past and her betrayal- make that accident- that happened just today. It was fascinating and rather exhausting to Tawnypelt's mind.

She realized she had spaced out again, and regained her focus to realize Blackstar had approached her. The white tom was standing in front of her, his muzzle only a mousetail away from her face.

"Are you tired?" he asked, a rare gentle tone leaking into his words.

Tawnypelt shook her head. "I have a question to ask you." She leaned forward a bit. "Do you mind… um- not being so close to me?"

Blackstar backed up a little, keeping his eyes on his large paws.

"Yes?" he asked when he was settled a comfortable distance from her.

"It's just been bothering me… this was a rather odd punishment. Is there a specific reason that you chose it?"

Blackstar stiffened, and for a heartbeat Tawnypelt could have sworn he looked surprised. But his face was calm again within an instant, and Tawnypelt wondered if she had just imagined it.

"I'm feeling oddly generous today," His tone was gruff and cold. "Don't expect me to spare you again."

Tawnypelt nodded, not even bothering to decode these words. "Do you mind if I… stargaze?"

Blackstar cocked his head questioningly.

"I know it sounds a bit mousebrained, but when I can't sleep…" Tawnypelt trailed off.

Blackstar dipped his head in agreement, then got to his paws.

Tawnypelt opened her muzzle to protest, but he cut her off. "You can't stay out of my sight, remember?"

Trying to hold back words of disappointment, Tawnypelt nodded. Now she'd look like a complete mousebrain in front of the cat that judged her harder then any cat in the clan.

"Okay… then…" She muttered, padding out of the den. Though Blackstar kept his distance from her, she could hear his pawsteps, oddly light for a cat of his bulk, following her. It was rather uncomfortable to know someone was watching you, but she relaxed when the sky was in view.

The stars were there as always, tiny lights glimmering against Silverpelt. They had always reminded Tawnypelt on her own pelt, which was a dark tawny with overlapping calico shades. Though she was not spotted like the sky, it was still a small connection that brought her a minimal but significant amount of comfort.

She picked out the constellations she had named- there was the snake, jaws open and bared, its particular bright starry eyes burning subtle in her vision. Then there was the WindClan warrior, long legs outstretched, racing across Silverpelt, leaving starprints embedded in the milky blue surface. Every night it would race across the sky, frozen in suspended animation, appearing to be running but going nowhere. It was beautiful and sad and rather sickening, but it was still beauty in its highest form. A whole new world just above her head.

"What are you looking at?" Blackstar's gruff voice did not surprised Tawnypelt this time, for she was used to silence followed by a sharp mew that cut into her thoughts.

"The stars." She suddenly felt very foolish, or maybe it was just his gaze burning her pelt.

"Ancient cats found solace in the stars," Blackstar did not mention anything of her stargazing. "Even long before StarClan existed, the stars were there. If _Star_Clan are supposed to be the stars, how come stars existed before them?"

Tawnypelt didn't answer his question. "How did you know that?"

"Know what?"

"About the ancients?"

"Oh. I'd rather not say." Blackstar's mew was shaky with attempted deception.

_Sol. _Tawnypelt couldn't help but think. The words of the charismatic tortoiseshell still echoed in her mind, though they grew fainter by the day. She was glad ShadowClan was back to the warrior code, for the most part, and the pesky loner had gone. She sometimes wondered where he was. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of Sol wearing a big pink bow, lapping out a of a Twoleg food bowl. The funniest thing is that it wasn't that hard to imagine that actually happening to Sol.

"Are you tired?" Blackstar's question rang softly in Tawnypelt's ears, erasing the mental image.

"Are you?" The tortoiseshell asked.

"Hey, I asked you first."

"Fine. I guess my eyes are growing a bit heavy." Tawnypelt answered. Blackstar nodded in satisfaction. Tawnypelt couldn't help but notice that his eyes were dull with sleepiness.

_He must be waiting for me to sleep. _Tawnypelt couldn't decide if that was touching or just plain _creepy._

She got to her paws, flicking her tail as a farewell to the stars. They seemed to wink back at her, and Tawnypelt smiled. StarClan never took it's eyes off her.

She shivered.

Neither did Blackstar.


End file.
